Bittersweet Book One: Kanto Journeys
by the5ws
Summary: Ash, the one destined to make the Final Decision. Will it be eternal lies or painful truth? Will he even live to fulfill that destiny? How does he cope with his journeys as the world gets closer to the moment where its fate will be decided? Pokémorph. First Book. Kanto. This is my first fanfic plz don't crush me! (puppy eyes) Rated T to be safe. Oh and...PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Prologue

Hey there!

So basically this is a fic where I changed Ash and the plot…sometimes a bit and at other times a lot (e.g., he actually ages lol) and there's also the Pokémorph thing.

Enjoy!

Me: RAPIDASH OR ZEBSTRIKA!?

Pikachu: *Sweatdrops*

Mew: Rapidash!

Me: Zebstrika!

Mew: Rapidash!

Me: Zebstrika!

Mew: Rapidash!

Me: Zebstrika!

Mew: Zebstrika!

Me: Rapidash!…oh…wait…

Mew: I win!

Pikachu: *sweatdrops again*

Arceus: WHAT'S WITH ALL THIS BICKERING?! *uses judgement, everyone faints*

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON!

Prologue

It was the magical time of the day when the sun's warm gaze met the moon's silver one as they stood in the sky, seemingly opposites that always appeared to be dancing around each

other. Always dancing, always following a beautiful yet mythical tune that each being in the universe had built into their very beings.

It was during this time of the day that a small boy was born.

The life ahead of him was filled with hardships.

But somehow, in one way or another, he'll pull through.

And then he'll fulfill his destiny.

No, he never had a destiny.

It was a choice.

One that he will make.

One that will decide between eternal lies or painful truth.

And who is this 'he'?

We shall see:

A boy, small, alone, terrified, and crying. The forest Pokémon pitied him, but no one stepped up and took him under their wing.

They thought that it was a sin to approach such a lowly life, one that came from forbidden love.

The love between a Pokémon and a human.

But the future is undecided.

They will soon come to cherish this boy.

His name was Ash Ketchum.

'Look away, children! Don't look into his eyes, they'll dirty your soul!' said a passing Pidgeot to her children.

However not all of the Pokémon thought that way. The Forest Elder certainly did not. He was the Arcanine that knew no ends to his own wisdom, after all.

So he walked up the the three year old, and, upon seeing that the child had a kind heart and a good soul, took him in.

Over the course of three years, the wild Pokémon had come to love the odd boy for who he was, and eventually no one had any fear of him anymore.

Until one day, Pokémon Rangers came and found the boy, and then they took him away.

Just like that, he lost his forest life, the freedom he shared with the forest Pokémon.

Just like that. He had no choice. But it was not the first time he didn't have any.

Such a life. thought the wise Arcanine as he thought back to the time he spent with the boy some time after the event.

Bittersweet.

So…how was it? PLEASE REVIEW! ;)


	2. Chapter 1: A Trainer's Beginning

Next chapter! Enjoy!

Me: AARON! GET OVER HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU ATE ALL MY CHOCOLATE!

Aaron: I swear to Aura I didn't!

Me: I DON'T CARE! *pulls out Misty's mallet* COME OVER HERE SO I CAN USE MY NEW GIFT!

Aaron: Lucario! Help me!

Lucario: You're on your own, Master! *runs away*

Aaron: No! Don't leave me behind! Lucario!…I didn't eat your chocolate! Please spare me!

Me: WHY YOU LITTLE…!

Pikachu: Oh Arceus…

*Somwhere off in the Hall of Origins*

Arceus: *Sneezes* What was that?!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN POKÉMON (if I did Piakchu would never have lost to Snivy lol)

Chapter 1

"I'm late I'm late I'm late!" shouted a boy who had just turned ten. He tumbled down the stairs in his haste, wolfed down his breakfast, and flew out the door.

Flew indeed.

And then crashed into the professor's lab, catching a rival by surprise, and sending the two of them to the floor.

"What was that for, idiot?!"

"I was late!"

"It's not my fault you were late, scum!"

"You're scum yourself!"

The Professor sweat dropped as he observed the scene.

"Now, now, boys, calm down. Gary, you have everything. Now get going, the car's waiting. And Ash, don't forget you have yet to get your starter!"

The young member of the Oak family smirked and left, not before making a much-too-bold and also quite arrogant remark outside of the door and listening to the cheers of his band of cheerleaders.

"P-professor Oak…?" trailed Ash. He waved a gloved hand in front of the old professor, drawing him back to the present.

"Oh yes! Ash…right. I'm sorry but I'm afraid I ran out of starters."

Ash's wings drooped a little as he deflated.

"Although I do have one Pokémon…"

Ash's eyes sparkled.

"He's a little uneasy to handle, though. Are you sure about this?"

"Of course, Professor! I'm as sure as ever!"

"Perfect! Now, here's his Pokéball…"

A small white and red orb was handed over, with a small electric symbol over it.

When its contents were released, there was a small gasp on the boy's part.

"A Pikachu! Hi there!"

'Great. Another idiot. First I get caught by an old fart and now I'm a newbie kids starter. Perfect.' remarked the Pikachu sarcastically.

"Don't say that, Pikachu. We'll be friends if we try."

The electric's rodent practically fell off the table. A human had just understood him. Upon closer inspection, he could see that this was not his usual "human".

In fact, was he human at all?

"Now Ash," interrupted the professor, "do you mind if you do me a little favour?"

"Sure thing, Professor!"

"I have two Pokémon that I'm afraid I won't have time for. They are a Ponyta and a shiny Eevee. Want to take them on your journey?"

"Why not? The more friends the better."

"Thank you my boy! Here they are."

Two new Pokéballs were handed over.

"And here's you Pokédex. Do I need to explain its function and how it works?"

"No! I'm all ready to go!"

"Alright. Well, I guess we'll talk to each other later then."

As the old professor watched the excited boy leave, he thought,

 _Golden heart, silver soul. Seems like the prophecy was spot on, my boy._

A boy with lightning birthmarks sat under a tree, gazing at his new Pokémon. It was raining.

There was a Pikachu who turned his head away from him and stood stubbornly on a rock, and an Eevee and a Ponyta who couldn't believe their eyes…or ears.

'You can understand us?!'

'You look funny…'

"I am a half-Pokémon…"

'That's impossible! There is no such thing.'

"I believe that I am the only one…"

Silence. Then two grins.

'Well, I guess it doesn't matter, does it? A trainer's a trainer!'

'Yeah…it's also kinda cool. Are you always a half shiny umbreon?'

"No…I can change my Pokémon half."

'Really?!'

'That's so c—'

But Eevee never finished her sentence. All hell broke loose as a flock of blood thirsty spearow flew in with war cries. It was led by a fearow.

"Oh no! Guys, run!"

Feathers, swears, tearing claws, they were all a blur, mixed with pelting rain against the heavy grey clouds.

And the fighting begun. No time to run, nowhere, either.

On one side, there were iron wings, drill pecks, furious storms of feathers and merciless claws.

On the half-breed's side, flamethrowers, flare blitzs, quick attacks, swifts, electricity, and shadow balls.

But in the end, numbers prevailed. The four warriors were exhausted and faltering. There were scratches all over their now drenched bodies, and there was a pool of water mixed with blood beneath their foot.

Both fortunate and unfortunate, the Spearow were also down to their last wave. And why unfortunate? Well, they were going to concentrate on one individual only. And that individual?

Pikachu.

But he was never hit, even though he squeezed his eyes shut, thinking that the Spearow would never miss, that he would, inevitably, die as he screamed bloody murder.

A half-human, half-Pokémon, black and blue blur leapt in front of him.

Lightning.

Thunder.

Silence.

And…

Ok, so a tiny cliffie. Not too much of a surprise in the next chapter though, although it's still ok-ish.

Note: 'xxxx' is Pokéspeech, and although Auto Translate is always on, assume, unless I make a special comment, that only Ash can understand the Pokémon.

As always, PLEASE REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 2: Backstory, Another Dimension

I finally took some time off Pokémon Go lol…

Just caught a Kadabra, CP103…Caught it five times before it stayed *sigh*

And currently debating:

Me: Wanna bet, stupid goat? Pikachu loves ketchup above everything and anything else!

Arceus: Of course not! Pikachu is an electric type. It loved electricity more!

Me: Fifty Pokédollars.

Arceus: Fine, you little brat.

3 min later…

Pikachu walks in the room.

Me: Pikachu!

Pikachu: Wat? Imma gonna take a nap.

Me: Do you like ketchup better or electricity?/span/p

Pikachu: Ketchup is god…*yawns* bye-bye…gonna go to ketchup land…

Me: *Stares at Arceus, snatches the money from him* Told ya!

Arceus: Oh yeah? Let's settle this with a battle!

Me: FINE! (whips out the mallet)

Arceus: (uses Psychic to pick up sword)

World nearly ends…lol

Chapter 2

A small group near a tree were having their first times at various things.

The shiny Ponyta was actually crying…and the funniest thing was that she didn't know why she was.

Fire types were not known for their tears, and even though her breed was quite compassionate towards people whom they took a liking to, Ponyta was not one of them. In fact, she doubted she had cried her whole life.

She didn't even cry when she was captured and taken away from her homeland.

Not even for her little sister, who never hatched.

Not for her father, who was poached by men in black.

Not for her old home, which was destroyed by a grass fire.

But why was she crying for this half-breed?

She knew her unborn sister for four months.

She knew her father for half her life.

She stayed at her old home for a fourth of her life.

But she had just met this boy a few moments ago.

 _So this is how it feels to cry_. She thought, and let a small sniffle escape.

The grey coloured Eevee was feeling sad for the first time. Actual sadness.

Before this, she had never actually been truly sad, it was always just a fake puppy-eyes or crocodile tears. She had faked them so well that even she had begun to think that they were real. Until now, she had been unable to see through her own fantasy, the fantasy that she actually had a normal, adventurous life, filled with the supposedly 'normal' ups and downs. But she never had one. Her life was, plainly speaking, boring. Very.

This time however it wasn't just her imagination.

This time, at last, it was for real.

The third and last Pokémon, an electric type mouse, was still. Very, very still.

However if you went on a trip through his head right now, you would have found nothing but turmoil.

For one, there was the shock. The shock of, namely, a _human_ , or at least a part human actually saving him, and not vice versa. To think, a stupid little _brat_ from the _worst_ species on _the planet_.

And then there was the part where he wanted to destroy himself. Just completely fry himself to smithereens with his own electricity, or perhaps lifting that boulder and crushing himself underneath it.

He couldn't bare the fact that a _mere human_ had saved him, the best Pikachu in the surrounding areas before he was captured in that _damned_ Pokéball. He couldn't stand that he had even allowed him to come close in the _first place_.

Thirdly, he wanted to _destroy_ the world. Unravel every atom inside his body and destroy it, blast it apart, suck it into a black hole, _whatever_. Even just exploding a small pebble would be better than nothing. The best scenario? Go to hell or heaven and kill that _stupid_ Ash again and again.

Anything, _anything_ was better than being like this.

But apparently, Dialga decided to stop time for him, probably on whim (like he cares!) and now… he was frozen.

At least to the three Pokémon, time was frozen.

Well, at least before it was unfrozen.

And when it was…

Let's just say dams broke loose. Dams that were in their hearts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Light, more light, brightness, almost blinding.

A theatre, in black and white with shades of grey.

First came a field, a hill a house and oh, grass that was so tall, so amazingly tall.

And a human, and then Pokémon, holding a small boy.

Was that him?

Happy times spent with both of them. Love, gentleness, peace, and calm. In this world, conflict did not exist.

But then the scene vanished, replaced, a rock, many, billions of twinkling object beside a bright yellow disk.

Nighttime.

"Almost like a switch had been turned off.

Dark emotions.

p class="p1"span class="s1"But why? This place brought good memories.

Answers came…=

Men barging in the door with guns, explosions, terror, screams, blood, so much blood.

Scarlet, flames, darkness, and piercing cries.

The darkness almost had him, almost held him in their iron grip.

They demanded him.

He screamed, cried, struggled.

And then…a Jolteon?

Yes…

Jolteon carried him far, too.

Into the woods.

Looming shapes of trees in the blackness.

Like the monsters that had never entered his dreams until that day.

Soft paws on the treacherous paths.

The Jolteon tried to get faster, and faster…

But it was injured, blood down the Pokémon's legs.

And the evil, it was right behind, following, tracking, never letting go.

A thud, the boy was dropped onto the ground.

p class="p1"span class="s1"The electric type stood up, valiantly walking forward towards the enemy.

Why? Run, Jolteon! Run!

Yellow light so bright it hurt.

And then the evilness retreated, but the boy was crying, sobbing.

Why? Why the tears?

Oh…the Jolteon was dying.

It said something, something like "Don't ever give up."

Then it died, gone.

Morning came, the boy's form was clearer. Half-Absol…no, mega Absol

Tear streaked face.

A large dark blue blade on his snow white hair.

Small, sharp tail.

Hair that covered his left eye.

And torn clothes that were white, like his hair.

Furry gloves that resembled sharp claws on his hand.

Wings…small, white, and fluffy.

Marks…oh…a triangular patch of blue on his hair?

Yes. And lightning birthmarks too, on his cheeks.

And…a golden eye?

He had woken up?

A large, old Growlithe appeared, then he took the boy away.

To a tree with branches so large and heavy that it drooped to the ground.

The Growlithe took the boy under the branches.

Warmth, comfort, food, water, shelter, a small joy in the midst of the river of tears.

Acceptance.

A new life, happiness returned.

Wounds closed.

Laughter, jokes, humour.

A scene where he fell in the river while fishing.

Tumbling down a slope on a hill.

Jumping from tree to tree.

But something was different.

The half-mega Absol had disappeared.

Instead, this was a half weavile.

Time passed, flashed through, and vanished.

Pokemon rangers appeared, carried him, fighting away.

Wounds opened, again.

At a lab, treated like an experiment.

Like a lab rat. Not human, not a being, a _thing_ rather.

Release, being given to the Oak Lab.

Being sent to a woman.

Her name was Delia.

He called her his mother from then on, it seemed.

And then life slowly became…as good as it could have been.

Friends, rivals, the kind Professor and his surrogate mother.

Fierce competition, with a boy named Gary.

Humiliation.

pHe tried, but still, he was strange.

Almost too strange to exist./span/p

Almost.

He barely made it.

A boy who was cheery on the surface, with a dark past that no one around him knew hidden beneath layers of concrete.

And then waking up late.

Becoming a trainer.

Introductions.

A badass Pikachu, a distant Ponyta, and a cute Eevee.

Spearows.

Blood.

Darkness.

And no other images came.

The theatre had vanished.

A bright light, even brighter than the last one.

A mystical being

A deep voice.

"This is not the afterlife."

"It's not?"

"No. There is no afterlife for you."

"What do you mean?"

"You are not ready to make the choice yet. Go on, I shall grant you life once again."

"What choice?"

"No, rather, I will heal your body. You never died in the first place. Now go, and fulfill your…"

I never caught the last part. Instead, as if I was riding a Lati, I flew through the strange dimension and crashed into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back with the three starters, it was as if all hope was lost.

No more trainer, just tears and sobbing. And don't forget the rain and the storm.

And then?

Twitch.

The small tiny movement from the black and blue ringed tail.

Gasps.

Wiggling ears, that each had a blue coloured stripe around it.

A small spark of hope.

Ruffling of black clothes as the body shuddered.

And finally, the wind blew the half-breeds pitch black hair away, revealing slightly opened mismatched eyes.

One was silver, the other was gold.

'A-Ash? Are you alive?' asked the unsure Eevee.

No answer, just a weary moan and a furry gloved hand that reached up and rubbed his eyes.

The Pikachu cautiously stepped forward.

'I-if you can h-hear me, A-Ash…I-I'm sorry…'

A nuzzled from the tear streaked muzzle of the shiny Ponyta.

span class="s1""I'm hungry. Where's the food?"

And everyone except the half-umbreon fainted, anime-style.

Lol ok I just had to put the last part.

Nice chappie? Or do you think otherwise?

Pikachu: Please review! (oh and it's true, I love ketchup above everything and anything else) 


	4. Chapter 3: Pidgeotto

PHEW here's the next chappie. Been busy, sorry about the late update.

Me: Pikachu Team Rocket hasn't been at us lately...

Pikachu: Pika...no they haven't...

Me: What happened?

Pikachu: Don't know. Let's just hope they don't appear soon.

Me: Oh no!

Pikachu: What?

Me: You don't think that they're going to...

Pikachu: Yes! I'm sure they will! Perfect! I get to zap them to a crisp!

Me: Uh...you know that's not _exactly_ good news...

Pikachu: *dancing, ignoring me*

Me: Uh...Anyway, here begins Chapter 3!

Chapter 3

'Otto!' resonated a loud voice, obviously in pain.

'Areceus what was that!?' yelped the electric rodent, covering his ears.

" I don't know, but we should check…"

'Nyta! I object!'

This startled the rest of the group, Ponyta was usually quiet except during battles.

'Why not?'

'It's none of our business. Besides, what if we get ourselves involved and become someone's enemy?'

'Kachu, I guess Ponyta does have a point there…'

"He does, however we can watch from the sidelines at least, then decide what we should do."

,

With that, the group walked into a very interesting scene.

Inside a small clearing there were two Pokémon fighting.

Well...not quite.

Rather, I should say one very pissed Shroomish completely overpowering a Pidgeotto and hitting it with attacks that were bring it close to death.

Upon closer inspection, you could see that the Pigeotto was loudly crying and begging, and the Shroomish had steam coming out of the sides of its head.

"Wha…" stuttered the trainer.

'A shroomish, fighting a completely one-sided battle. Looks like I wasn't the only unfortunate one.'

"Was it just me or did you admit one of your past losses?!"

'Vee! Oh my he did?!'

'Impossible!'

'Ka, what are you talking about?!'

"You admitted that you were once defeated by a Shroom-"

'Shaddup! Was not!' cried the rodent in defends. If his cheeks were not already red, they would have turned that way.

'I don't think it's time to talk about this...we should go and help the poor Pidgeotto somehow. Nyta! That must have hurt!'

The group watched in horror from the shrubbery as the still mad Shroomish head butted the clearly out cold Pidgeotto upwards, then slammed him hard onto a tree. The tremor caused an Earthquake that actually did a bit of damage.

But now the Shroomish was not the only one mad.

Ash was, too.

Without second thought, the half-breed barged into the clearing, startling the fuming Shroomish and turning it even redder.

'Shroo! Foolish human! Leave now or die!'

There was no reply on the trainer's end. Just a brief moment where a wave of cold, dark wave washed over the surrounding area.

The poor Shroomish stood traumatized and shivering after the event. And even though it was not intended for them, Ash's Pokémon also shivered.

The wave was dark, filled with even more dark emotions than Darkrai's dark void. It flashed immense danger, and chilled the very core of your being.

There was a flash of red in the trainer's mismatched eyes before he bent, picked up the critical-condition Pidgeotto and walked away, as if nothing had ever happened.

There wasn't even an edge to his voice when he told his Pokémon to get going.

The group now stood grim as they watched Nurse Joy and Chantey frantically operated on the Pidgeotto. It was almost three hours later when she finally exited. However the news was sour.

"I'm sorry…but I'm afraid sir that the Pidgeotto might not wake from her state of coma."

"It's ok…" breathed Ash slowly, "May I see him?"

"Yes, however please be careful around the equipment."

"I will. Thank you, Nurse Joy."

"You're welcome."

With that, Ash and his Pokémon rushed into the room, and they all stiffened at the sight.

Ash was the first to react. He pulled a chair over, sat down, and calmly said, "Please, go get some sleep. Here are the keys, Nurse Joy can help you open the door. I'll stay here for a while…"

'Ash…ta-pony, it's not your fault…'

'Don't stress yourself!'

'PikaPi, you we are NOT going without you! You are coming, or we are st—'

"Guys, stop. Go. Please."

That shut the electric rodent up. With a glare and a huff, he unwillingly went out the door with Ponyta and Eevee, who both stole one last glance at their trainer before exiting.

The new trainer looked down at the Flying/Normal type and sighed.

"Pidgeotto, look, I'm sorry…I…I waited too long to rescue you. Just please wake up, ok?"

He played a hand on the bird's body, then began to think about his past.

How many times have this happened?

Can death never leave him alone?

Death, disease, separation.

Must they always follow him?

Was that his curse?

"Mom, Dad…"

Tears dripped slowly onto yellow feathers.

"Jolteon…Pichu…Caterpie…Rattata…Dedenne…"

He cried for his family, for his forest friends, for everyone that had been separated from him.

"Arcanine…Anna…"

And the one kind person at the lab.

"and now…WHY ME?! WHY?! Leave me alone!"

Violent sobbing turned sharply into sniffles. Ash began to squeeze one of Pidgeotto's feathers.

"Don't die…"

That night, the young trainer fell asleep in the chair, crying.

Pikachu walked into Pidgeotto's hospital room in the morning only to find a still asleep Ash and a stirring bird.

'Oh my! I better wake Ash up and tell him to get Nurse Joy.'

He grinned devilishly as an idea entered his head.

Zap.

"Yeoooooooowwwwwwww!"

The scent of something fried, and a rolling Pikachu laughing on the floor.

"A-Ash…PI-HAHAHA…Y…you—your hair! HAHA-KACHU!"

"Why YOU LITTLE—"

"A-Ash go get N-Nurse J-Joy! P-Pigeotto I think is w-waking up! Pi-Ha-kachu!"

The bird woke up staring at blue material.

'Am I in heaven…?'

"No your not."

His eyes widened as he looked up. A boy with lightning birthmarks stared down at him, smiling. He had tear marks on his face…and he had a tail? Ears?

And he was able to understand Pokémon?

How strange.

Well, at least he was alive. And now was a perfect opportunity.

'Are you a trainer?'

"…Yes."

'Then catch me. I want to go with you.'

Hint: Next chapter Team Rocket appears (and disappears, but no spoilers) and meets with the guy that loves ALL Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys...and also, do you know why they all look the SAME?! Like, did they marry the same guy or something (lol)?


	5. Chapter 4: Pokécentre Crisis

Hey readers! Sorry for the long wait! I'm back from the dead (and from crazy summer school)! Here are two chappies, but I have another one underway...I'll update again VERY soon, tonight at the earliest and tomorrow night at the latest. Talk to ya later!

Me: Pikachu I'm bored.

Pikachu: Go talk to Arceus then, why do you always but me?!

Me: 'Cause if me and Arceus talk again the world is most likely gonna end...

Pikachu: *Thinks* I guess that's true. But I still won't talk to you.

Me: Why?

Pikachu: You've been ignoring me until now! What does that other Pikachu have that I don't?!

Me: She has higher CP *tries to run away*

Pikachu: WHY YOU...! *Zaps me and destroys the room*

REMINDER: '...' = Pokémon speaking

"Bye, _mom._ "

We find our protagonist ending a phone call to the Ketchum household. Pikachu, unnerved by the sweet yet hollow way his trainer pronounced the last word of the call, decided to say something.

'Well that was tedious, you could have made it much shor—'

Much to the electric rodent's distaste, Ash made a very sudden move and stepped calmly to the side. Pikachu was about of protest when he saw, not far away from the base of Ash's skull, the barrel of a handgun.

"Don't move, criminal! You're under arrest!"

"Am I? What for?" With one swift motion, Ash smirked and knocked the handgun out of Officer Jenny's hand.

"Care to answer me, officer in training Paulina Jenny?"

Pikachu, remaining proudly perching on Ash's left shoulder, observed as the officer gritted her teeth, stood up, and jabbed a finger in the direction of the young trainer.

"You are under arrest for violation of the Pokémon Ethics and Protection Act of—"

"And you based that upon?"

"The manner that you handle your own Pokémon! Your Pokémon is nearly always out of their Pokéballs, and your PIkachu," her finger's aim went from the boy to the rodent, "is always outside."

"Pardon me, Officer In Training Jenny, but your induction is far to vague. Therefore I have the right to deny this accusation."

"Ah, but I have far more proof than just that, what about the time when you abused your Pidgeotto? Cameras are situated throughout this room, and one of them happened to catch you waltzing in with the poor injured Pokémon last evening, _Experiment PF-1154_?"

Pikachu was surprised at the last few words… however unfortunately he wasn't the only one effected. Ash was momentarily silent, and Pikachu could hear him take one long breath before continuing.

"I found Pidgeotto injured in the forest. I have never and will never abuse any Pokémon. Now please, Officer, I have to get to the Viridian Gym."

"Why you—"

A taller officer stepped out from the curious crowd, which was now muttering among themselves.

"That's enough, Paulina! What are you doing accusing people for no reason?! This young sir here is innocent! I'm sorry sir, you may go on your way."

"Thank you," Ash responded without emotion. Neither he nor his Pikachu looked back as they strode out of the Pokécentre.

However Pikachu wasn't very sure of the meaning behind those mysterious words, and why his trainer, who was usually much calmer in public, had flinched when he heard them. What is _Experiment PF-1154?_

"Well wasn't that unfortunate, and I was looking forward to the battle too," said a half-breed trainer who sat seemingly a mile away from the rest of the trainers in the cafeteria.

'We got so hyped up, only to be unreasonably disappointed.' replied the Eevee.

'Where do you guys think the gym leader disappeared to?'

The rest of the group was momentarily silent, surprised at the sudden words coming from the normally silent Ponyta.

'I don't know, but I think he was kidnapped? Maybe a grudge or something?' suggested the Pidgeotto while digging into the crunchy Pokéchow.

"I think it's more complicated than that, however we would likely need much more information to decide…"

When the group stood up and walked over to deposit the trays and garbage, the noise level became near zero. No one in the cafeteria, rather, in the whole Pokécentre, had ever seen someone like Ash. Some rumoured him to be a monster, some an angel, others a demon. One even suggested that he was a spy from another region.

A certain gym leader favouring rock types that had just finished another failed attempt at proposing to Nurse Joy stopped in the middle of his tracks when he was just about to enter the scented cafeteria. The hand that held the just picked up parcel filled with a special mix of Pokémon food for his rock types stiffened.

"What a strange boy…" he muttered to himself.

But as soon as the swords left his mouth, an explosion was heard, and everything went black.

A moment of silence, which was closely followed by squeaks and shouts of, "A black out?! What was that explosion?!"

The only human who could see just as clear in the dark was the hybrid one called Ash. He wordlessly motioned for his Pokémon to follow before swiftly running off to find Nurse Joy.

What he discovered was a panicked pink hair nurse rushing off to the emergency control room with a worried Chansey at her side.

"Nurse Joy! Make an announcement! Is the emergency lighting activated?"

"Young sir, please go to a safer area! This will be dealt with immediately!"

"Nurse Joy, please let me aid you. The name is Ash Ketchum, I'm sure you recognize the name?"

"Ash Ketchum…oh my! Your one of the writers and co-editors of the Pokécentre Emergency Procedures Manuel!"

"Correct. Now Nurse Joy, is there emergency lighting?"

"Yes, I have a way to produce necessary electricity. Come out, me dears!"

Ash was a bit surprised when he found himself looking at a hoard of Pikachus with electrodes attached to their cheeks.

The trainer glanced over at the Nurse, who's expression was a mix between pride of her idea and distress from the situation.

"I believe a few cameras were destroyed by various small explosions over the building?"

"Yes…"

"Are there any patients in the human wing?"

"There is one, her name is misty Waterflower. She was attacked by a flock of spearows three days ago. Unfortunately she is still unconscious."

"Then I know exactly where the culprits are."


	6. Chapter 5: On the Loose

Ok here's Ch.5:

"Nya-ow were gonna get da boss somethin' good!"

"And then we'll be praised!"

"And we'll get salary and privileges!"

"Dat's right! Nya-I might even get to be da boss's new cat and replace that ol' filthy Persian-ya!"

A half-luxray half human trainer could already hear the voices of the Rocket trio as he ran down the corridor with his Pikachu. Their footsteps were silent as they came in full view of the talking Meowth, James, and Jessie.

They were very surprised. Very. The villains had expected this plan to perfect. Stealing an injured trainer's Pokémon, specifically Misty Waterflower's Pokémon, should have been a piece of cake.

However unfortunately for them, they miscalculated by one trainer. And his name was Ash Ketchum. Although right now, they still weren't aware of how dangerous he really was.

"Twerp, get outta da way or eat my Fury Claws!" snarled the talking Meowth.

"Oh look, a kid!" snickered Jessie while James just sighed and told his partner to ignore the brat and get a move on. They finished their motto, which was undoubtedly their top priority in every situation, and was just about to complete their plan when Ash stepped closer with a small dark smile.

"A kid? Not just a kid."

'Not just any Pikachu either.'

The trio was more unnerved with every step the trainer took, and they could see the dark hue as well as Pikachu emanating from Ash. The electric rodent was chilled to the very bones by the dark aura, but due to the situation, he decided to ignore it and ask Ash about it later.

"Now I think _you_ should be the ones running instead."

Ash's gaze and attitude frightened the trio until they fell onto their behinds and the scent of urine tinted the air.

"Tw-werp!" squeaked the Meowth before he was struck by a lightning fast (no pun intended) yellow line. Namely, Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

The trio, without any type of defence against the electric attack and no Pokémon powers like Ash either, was rendered unconscious.

"Now then, we should get them to the police."

Pikachu, who was frozen by a moment of stun from the sudden decrease in the dark aura around his trainer, slumped and let out a small,

'Pikaaaa…'

"But Mr. Ketchum, I must reward you far more that just that for your efforts…"

"Please, Officer Jenny, I do not need any rewards except for the details on the disappearance of the Viridian Gym Leader."

Pikachu sighed, this had been going on for more that 45 minutes now…when was it going to end?

"Alright. I suppose I have no choice. Thank you again for the capture of these criminals and protecting the Pokécentre. Now shall I accompany you to the exit?"

"Yes please do Officer Jenny."

As the hybrid was lead out of the building, Ash saw a slightly shorter longsword lying in a black scabbard on a table. It's position made it seem as if it was a mere ignored paper model, but its unusual dark shine said otherwise.

"Excuse me, Officer Jenny? May I ask what is the sword other there doing here?"

"Oh right, that one. It was found in the Viridian Forest six months ago by a travelling trainer. The girl thought it was someone else's lost belongings and brought it here. Unfortunately we have not yet found a person who would claim it."

"How much is it?"

The officer was caught off guard by this question, however she replied with a smile.

"Since you've done us a great favour, Mr. Ketchum, I can give it to you free of charge as it had note been clan yet been claimed yet. If someone comes and claims it afterwards, I could always contact you and you can send it back."

"Thank you, Officer Jenny. I appreciate this."

Ash walked slowly towards the sword, dusted it off, and lifted it. It was not very heavy, not light either. Pikachu predicted that it would be slightly lighter once unsheathed, however he was still curious as to why his trainer had chosen this sword.

When they had walked out of the building, they were unexpectedly face to face with a flushed girl in a hospital gown.

Ash looked down at the small nameplate, and read _Misty Waterflower._

"Ketchum sir! I've come to than you for saving my Pokémon last night! Nurse Joy told me about you."

"No problem Miss…Waterflower?"

"Yes! You can call me Misty though."

"Call me Ash. Nice to meet you."

"Same here. Excuse me but are you heading to Cerulean City?"

"Eventually."

"We'll meet again there then! I'm heading the same direction!"

"Oh really? Alright then, let us meet again, Misty."

"See you!"

 _Oh brother, this is going to take forever…_ said the Pikachu as he watched the waves of media closing in on them. The electric rodent thought that he was forgetting something, however he could not pinpoint what and decided to ignore it.

"Ugh…" groaned a tired Ash as he collapsed in his tent two hours into the Viridian Forest.

'How do you like your new fame, Officer Ketchum?' snorted Pikachu sarcastically as he too laid down along with the rest of Ash's Pokémon.

"That's what I was bout to ask you, you, assistant officer Pikachu!" the trainer retorted before sitting up again and picking up and twiddling with the black sword laying by his side.

'I don't see why you wanted that, it's kind of shiny but it looks plain to me.' muttered Pidgeotto.

'And what's the point of begging Officer Jenny-eev to get you the info on the disappearance of the Gym Leader, veee?'

"Well I'm suspicious as to whether or not the leader was kidnapped or left on his own free will. Pikachu, do you see the connection? The Gym Leader's name is _Giovanni Rocket._ "

'Giovanni Rocket…no I don't. Wait…Hey that's the three idiots' team name!'

"Exactly. They called themselves Team _Rocket_. However mere names are not enough to prove this, so I asked for more information. At the crime scene, there were visible signs of struggle. A thin trail of blood, a shallow dent in the wall, upturned chairs, fallen nicknacks and various other evidence. However," Ash began to smile slightly as he noticed his Pokémon gaining interest, "if we look closely at all the photos taken at events and other ceremonies that were recorded by the station, he always had two things…a Perisian by his side and a handkerchief. Pikach u you remember what the Meowth said some time before we knocked them out, right?"

'Yes, something about their boss rewarding them and replacing the boss's Persian. Kachu'

"Doesn't it occur to you that their boss had Persian just like Giovanni? This lead me to think that Giovanni _is_ that organization's leader himself. And also to prove that he left on his own free will and staged a fake struggle is the handkerchief. In all the photos and the surveillance camera shots he always had that specific piece in his breast-pocket. Zooming in, we can see a small embroidered 'R' and, in half of the oddly angled photos, quite an unusually large amount of space between the back of the pocket and the handkerchief itself. Judging by the amount of 'struggle' present at the scene, it is safe to assume that the handkerchief had fallen out sometime during the kidnapping event. But there was no handkerchief present in the room or any other place in the gym, at least not with that specific 'R' on it."

'Pika…So now we have a mafia boss on the loose…'


	7. Chapter 6: Ho-Oh's Gift

Hey there! It's me again, the5ws! Sorry about the shortness of this chappie... but enjoy!

Me: Pikachu, remember what I taught you to say?

Pikachu: Of course! Uh...it's uh...

Me: Pikachu?! You don't mean to say you've forgotten when I taught you 2mins ago, do you?!

Pikachu: Of course not! I'll remember, just give me a sec! ...hmm...oh right! It's: the5ws would like you to know that she owns all the characters!

Me: NO DUMMIE! YOU COMPLETELY MESSED UP, AGAIN! JUST LIKE HOW YOU NEARLY MADE THE KITCHEN EXPLODE WHEN YOU TRIED TO MAKE...WHAT WAS IT, KETCHUP CAKE?!

Pikachu: Uh-oh...she's going to sic her dog on me...

Me: Sorry about the confusion, dear readers, what I meant to say was: I NEVER DID, DO NOT, AND NEVER WILL OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN POKÉMON! Now...back to dealing with Pikachu...NOW GET OVER HERE SO I CAN ICK YOUR ASS, RODENT!

"It's going to rain soon…"

'And we better find shelter…pika…'

The mood in the group was down. They had expected a perfect week with no rain…but now they were stuck here with no shelter that would prevent them from getting wet. Even the tent would still get damp and uncomfortable.

Suddenly Ash's face brightened as he pointed at a tree in the distance and declared that it was perfect for a shelter. Even though his Pokémon believed otherwise, they followed him anyway since they had no other choice.

The closer they got to the tree, the larger and wiser it looked. By the time the group hit the base, they were in disbelief at how huge it really was.

However what surprised the Pokémon even more was the action that their trainer took—Ash parted the long branches that drooped across in the ground and went under.

"What are you waiting for? You'll get wet if you don't come in soon!"

Annnnnd they went in. Annnnnd they were surprised. Again.

The branches started sprouting off the tree far higher than they expected, and there was plenty of space for them to camp for the night. Better: the leaves were so thick it would definitely keep the rain out.

'How'd you know this was gonna work, Ash?' asked the Pidgeotto.

"Experience…this brings back memories…" Ash simply responded, removing his backpack and unpacking some food.

'I still think that sword is a burden…' sighed Ponyta as she watched Ash set down the ordinary sword and started to unsheathe it.

'Pika, I hope you don't break something with that.'

At first, nothing happened, but right after it was fully out, there was an instant of a bizarre dark glow that snaked from the pommel all the way to the tip, then filled the temporary 'tent'.

After things settled down, there were five astonished and puzzled expressions.

'…Vee…Whaaa?'

"That felt weird…like something was melting into me."

Upon inspection, the sword was drastically different. The stone set in the pommel was much darker and had an otherworldly void to it, and the carvings on the similarity darker hilt became quite detailed. Instead of the before sakura flower, there was now the bodies of two dragons whose heads were the cross guard. The blade was so black anyone could have easily lost themselves in it if they failed to concentrate.

Despite the darkness, it was almost as if the core itself held a small amount of light, as tiny as that amount may be, it was there alright.

'Wow…it sure changed…' breathed Eevee.

'Kachu…I don't get it though, is this a dream?'

However the one that answered the question wasn't anyone from within the group, it was a deep yet free voice from outside the tree.

"No, young one, this sword is a gift from me to the Chosen One, the One to Decide."

"…Ho-Oh?…" gasped Ash when he peeked outside.

"Indeed, Chosen. This sword is a gift, along with this," three feathers floated down onto the raven haired boy's palm, "a little something as a souvenir. Now, it is about to rain and I must go on my duties once again. Farewell, youngling of the Decision."

With that, and storm like gale, the majestic rainbow bird, Lord of the Skies, flew off in all his glory and magnificence.

After a few moments of dumbfounding silence, the starstruck Pidgeotto was the one who broke out first.

'Oh my god! I can't believe it! I just met Ho-Oh! I just met Ho-Oh~'

And that was all the spark needed to light a strong forest fire of endless awestruck remarks and exclamations of disbelief. In the middle of the chaos, the young trainer pinned the feathers as a brooch on his hair and gently squeezed the handle of the dark sword.

 _I'll name you the Darkest Night, Tenet Noctis,_ ** _Yin_**.

As the name was carved word by word, smooth and flawlessly into the sword's elegant scabbard, two thoughts crept into the half-breeds head consecutively.

 _Decision…that word again. I wonder what is means?_

But that thought was quick to be replaced when Ash glanced over to his small group of Pokémon.

 _And how am I supposed to sleep with this much noise?_


End file.
